Apr 16, 2010

Practical Babies

Every time I pass by the baby section at the store, I wistfully long for a baby for whom to buy all this cute, cute stuff. Then I push my buggy on to the aisles of laundry detergent and canned goods. It is no mystery that if I actually had someone for whom to buy the frilly dresses, I wouldn't. I'd buy diapers.

When my oldest daughter was born, I had all the fru-fru outfits there were, gifts from friends and relatives, but she had no socks that fit. Her feet were so tiny, all the socks fell off her feet. A Norwegian girl named Bente went out and bought my baby tiny little socks. I still have those socks, and I still call them "Bente socks."

The practical, meeting-needs kind of gifts are the ones we remember. When my third child was 4, her sister was born. The best gift was not a fru-fru outfit for the baby, it was my mother in law taking the older girl out to lunch so I could nap with the baby. It was my sister coming over & feeding the others so I could sit on my butt and feed the baby.

I don't remember the fru frus. I remember the ones who met a desperate need.

I tend to be practical, anyway. When my 5th child was born, I changed the outgoing message on the answering machine to announce, "If you want to see the new baby, the price of admission is a gallon of milk. Don't show up empty handed."

It usually takes a baby or two to learn what your baby needs and what is just junk. Babies need a lot less than you think.

My sister calls those dresses "Grandma bait." It will be interesting to see if I fall for it when I'm a grandma. Perhaps, if the child already has diapers, socks that fit, and mama has sufficient rest and a casserole.

And if the dress is machine washable.

Some personality traits don't change. What practical needs will you meet today?

No comments:

Post a Comment

Successful Families

The goal of any business is success. If your Catholic family were a business, how would you define and measure success? Adherence to the Magisterium of the Church? Money management? Positive relationships? Positive impact on the world around you? How about all of the above?

Important disclaimer: Connie is not a professional attorney, tax adviser, financial adviser, psychologist, psychic, nor any occupation which requires licensure. All advice is freely given, for entertainment and/or edification only, for you to accept or ignore at your discernment.